Angels and Reapers
by PenDrop
Summary: Ok, so you died. Now what? You could come back to life. Or you could rest in peace. Which sounds better?
1. Chapter 1

Angels and Reapers

When the Living turn into the Dead, where must they go? Wandering the Earth forever until their soul is at peace, men and women alike travel hand-in-hand. To leave existence is to be content in not existing. To start anew is to throw away the old things from the past. If you were to meet the angels or reapers, which will you choose?

Chapter 1

It was an average day in Shibuya. Adults chat with their co-workers outside cafés or restaurants, teenagers flirt with each other while having their own fun, and as always, spirits ran free. About a month ago, a new school was built in Shibuya. It was your average high school, but something about it wasn't right. 'Why would they build a school in the busy downtown of Shibuya,' people would wonder. But nonetheless, students attended the school. And when classes ended, they would be able to go back to their favorite hang-out spots, so they didn't complain. However, there was a big disturbance in their lives, and although they weren't aware of it, they felt its existence.

A lone girl ran through the second floor hallway, clearly late for her first class. She breathed in short rasps while making sure her bag doesn't fall off. Her long, orange, split-ended hair floated in the air, and her dark brown eyes dart back and forth, looking for her classroom. There, coming up on the right! Grabbing the doorknob, the girl jerked the door open. However, everyone in the room didn't react to her arrival. The teacher continued the lesson without a single amount of acknowledgment. The girl looked down, ashamed, and then slowly gathered her courage.

"Excuse me…" she said in a shy voice. The teacher did not show any signs of hearing her. "Excuse me!" The teacher turned towards the door, catching the sound in a few moments.

"Oh. So you were here, Soreni Hironuri," the teacher said plainly. "Well, just take a seat and catch up with the rest of the class. Just because you're in the student council doesn't mean you can slack off."

"Ok…" She walked down the classroom and took the third seat of the first row.

"Alright, now…" The lesson resumed, giving the students a proper knowledge of their Japanese history. All of the students were required to wear uniform, but the student council students wear a special uniform to distinguish them. So, it would seem likely that the student council students would stand out much more than the average student. "Does anyone know the answer to this question?" the teacher asked at one time.

Soreni raised her hand up in the air. She was the only one to do so.

"No one?"

She raised her hand higher, trying to get his attention.

"Suit yourselves. The answer is…" The teacher gave the answer to the students, ignoring Soreni's raised hand.

When the class ended, she looked gloomily outside the window in the hallway.

"Hey, Soreni," someone called.

She turned around and saw an orange-haired boy come towards her. He had a kind smile and Soreni felt comfortable with him around. "Yuzuru…Otonashi, right?" she asked him.

"Hey, you got my name right!" Otonashi said cheerfully. He leaned on the windowsill and looked out at the track field.

Soreni joined him, and a few seconds passed by.

"Soreni, why are you trying so hard to fit into the class?" he asked.

"Because it seems fun," was her simple answer.

"You should know by now. If you don't speak, then people won't notice you, and that saying is very true for us."

"I know. It's just that I've never really experienced this before."

Otonashi smiled at her. "I understand." He pushed himself off the sill and put his hands behind his head. "Well, better get to our next class."

"Yep," Soreni agreed without breaking her sight from the field.

The next class was Science, and the teacher required that everyone gather a partner for the next assignment. Soreni squirmed in her seat while teenagers passed by her as if she wasn't even there. At the far right corner, a girl sat lonely in her seat. Soreni seized the chance and walked to her.

"Do you want to be my partner?" she asked the girl.

She looked at Soreni with blank eyes, but eventually, she agreed. They sat at the same desk and awaited instructions.

"Alright," the teacher shouted. "Does everyone have a partner?"

"I don't, teacher," the girl sitting next to Soreni said.

"Oh. It appears you don't." The teacher rubbed her chin. "Just pair up with another group, ok?" The girl nodded slowly, and left the desk.

Soreni put her head on the desk and watched the class with sad eyes. A boy wearing a black uniform and hat walked over to her desk and sat down.

"It's hopeless to try, NPC," he said to Soreni.

"Was that how I used to be? Ignoring people like you?" she asked the boy.

"Yep. When you regained consciousness, you became one of us."

"You're…Ayato Naoi, I think."

"Idiot!" he scolded. "To you, I am God!"

"Can you explain it to me how I, a NPC, became like you guys again?" She looked at him with puppy dog eyes. Naoi let his guard down, and he paid the price.

"Al-alright… You may be better at hypnosis than I am…" Ayato agreed, mumbling the last part.

"What was that?" Soreni asked.

"Nothing!" Naoi coughed, and began. "This school was a place for the deceased, but it was also filled with what we call NPCs." Naoi felt Soreni's puppy dog eyes slowly losing their effect. He decided to stop there and leave her hanging.

But she realized that the eyes weren't working anymore, and she quickly pointed to Otonashi at the other side of the class. Her look told him 'If you don't, I'll tell him'.

Naoi reluctantly gave in and continued. "Then one day, an NPC that showed more consciousness than the average NPC came up. We decided to treat that NPC as one of our own, and then this happened!"

"Did I surprise you guys?" Soreni asked him.

"Hell yeah! NPCs are supposed to be non-playable! As in not human! Did you expect us to accept you like that!" Naoi crossed his arms and closed his eyes, obviously mad. "I wanted to leave you, but Otonashi thought we should help you, since you weren't a NPC anymore." He opened one eye slightly, trying to make her feel guilty. "But your problem is that other than your name, you don't remember anything!"

"It's not my fault," Soreni said, defending herself. "I've just recently regained consciousness!"

"And to make things worse, right after your appearance, the six of us moved here!" Naoi stood up, but of course, no one took notice. "Then we were somehow transported to Shibuya, and all the students attending here are real! It's already been two days since that's happened! Do you think that we should put up with this! Don't mess with me!"

Suddenly, someone knocked Naoi's head from behind.

"Ah!" he cried.

Another boy, much taller than Naoi, stood with his fist held up. His distinguishable features were his blue hair and easy-going nature.

"Hideki Hinata…" Soreni said, remembering his name.

"Don't worry, Soreni. It's not your fault that we're in Shibuya," Hinata said kindly. "We'll just learn how to deal with it somehow until you can rest in peace."

Soreni held a small smile for him.

"And I'm not the only one. You have Otonashi and Tachibana too." Hinata pointed towards his best friend, Otonashi.

He noticed the small movement and waved at them.

Sitting in front of him was the quiet, white-haired student council president. Soreni saw the president look over and smile at her.

"Thanks, Tachibana," Soreni said, smiling back.

"Alright!" the teacher announced. "Class dismissed!"

Kanade was suddenly next to her, and grabbed her hand. "Let's go, Soreni," she said in her quiet voice.

Soreni started laughing and pulled Kanade out of the class.

Around the same time Soreni got to her first class, a boy at the same age was running through the Scramble Crossing. The Scramble Crossing was always full of people walking to their destination, but the boy did not bump into any of them. He was a little smaller than average, but he made up for that with his image. He wore a black, gothic bandage coat, which covered most of his body. A brand was on the right shoulder of the coat, "Lapin Angelique". His hair was a light gray, and partially covered his blue eyes on the left side.

Behind him, red, floating seals in the shape of frogs followed. The young man wasn't sure why the seals were following him, or why he could still see Shibuya. He just knew that he had died, and now he's running to save what is left of his soul.

He was coming up to the statue of Hachiko, but he was cut short as a massive seal the shape of a wolf's head appeared before him. "Tch," the boy grunted. "Get outta my way!"

Suddenly, a wolf began popping out of the seal, with yellow limbs and nasty teeth.

"Damnit!" The boy grabbed the seal and tried to stop the wolf from coming out. The seal started to shake violently, but the boy kept his grip on it. Light started pouring out, and then the seal just vanished. The boy opened his hand, but all that was left was smoke. "That's more like it!"

Suddenly, the sound of laughter broke the air.

"Ha ha! Can you believe it, Kariya!" yelled a female voice.

"Looks like we got lucky, Uzuki," remarked a male voice.

The boy turned around and saw two people leaning on Hachiko, staring at him.

One was a skinny guy with a lollipop in his mouth and frizzy orange hair.

The other was a skimpy, pink-haired girl with long white boots.

Both of them had black wings on their backs, and they both approached him while floating on those wings. "Hey kid," Kariya said. "You just smashed that Noise with just your fist!"

"I did what?" the boy asked him.

"You can exterminate noise!" Uzuki shouted at him. "And~, that means you can create noise too."

"What the hell is Noise?"

"Look kid," Kariya explained. "Here's the deal. _You_ are dead, and you're playing a game to get another chance at life right now." He took his lollipop out and used it to point at himself. "_We _make sure that it's not easy to come back to life. We create Noise…" Kariya opened his left hand, and the frog-shaped seal appeared again. "…and exterminate players." The boy slowly nodded.

"So what does this have to do with me?" he asked. Uzuki landed on her feet and patted his head.

"You've got the potential. Do you want to join us~?" she asked.

"Become a Reaper like us. Trust me, it's a lot better than being a Player," Kariya said, extending his hand out. The boy looked at them closely.

_'They seem to be telling the truth,'_ he thought. _'And they can see me, even though I'm dead. I guess I should just…trust them. For now, anyway.'_ The boy took Kariya's hand and shook it. "Alright," the boy said. "I'll join you guys then." Uzuki giggled to herself.

"Ha ha! Welcome to the Reapers!"

Kariya gave the introductions to him.

"My name's Koki Kariya, but everyone calls me Kariya. Don't expect me to save your ass on the field, alright?" He pointed his lollipop to the giggling girl. "This is Uzuki Yashiro. She may seem ditzy, but she's a burning ball of fire inside!"

"Hey!" Uzuki shouted at Kariya. "I am _not_ ditzy!"

"See what I mean?"

The boy laughed at the two of them.

"Oh, by the way. What's your name, kid?" she asked him. "Unless you want me to call you Kid all the time."

"I'm Shiro Yasagite," the boy said.

"Shiro, eh?" Kariya asked. "Well, c'mon Shiro." Kariya began floating up into the air, and he offered his hand.

Shiro took it and felt a power flow into him.

"We've got orders from Kitaniji. That's our boss, pretty much. He'll make you an official Reaper, but until then, just hang with us and watch what we're going to do." Kariya flew into the sky, with Uzuki close behind.

"Ah!" Shiro yelled, feeling his arm being forcefully yanked into the air.

"Shut up! I don't wanna hear your yelling!" Uzuki scolded.

"Oh yeah," Kariya said, suddenly remembering. "Reach into my jacket pocket. You'll have to use pins until we get you into Reaper status."

"Pins?" Shiro asked. He followed Kariya's order and found four pins to use. One had a blue arrow reaching upward. Its name, Frozen Cool, was on the back. The second pin, First Gear, just looked like its name; a gear. The third pin had a big M on the front. The name of it was Masamune. The last pin was the weirdest out of all of the pins. It looked like a regular "Have a Nice Day" Happy-face pin! The name perfectly fit too: Peace Full. Shiro reluctantly put the pins on his jacket. _'What good would pins do?'_

It was lunch time at the high school now. Soreni sat awkwardly at the table while watching Otonashi, Hinata, Naoi, and Kanade eating Mapo Tofu. Every once in a while, one of the boys would struggle to swallow a bite, but they all enjoyed eating it. She looked at her own Mapo Tofu, which they chose for her. She probed the dish with her spoon, and a cube of tofu was split in two.

"What's wrong, Soreni?" Otonashi said through a mouthful of food. "If you don't eat it fast, it'll get cold."

"Yeah," Hinata agreed.

"Only an idiot would not try this," Naoi stated.

"Hehe…" Soreni laughed. She picked up a spoonful of Mapo Tofu. She lifted it close to her face and stared at it. _'It looks like a mouthful of hell…' _she thought.

Suddenly, a gun shot fired, echoing into the air. All of them froze at once. The regular students didn't take notice of the disturbance.

"Let's go," Otonashi ordered, finishing up his Mapo Tofu. The others did the same, then got up and left the table.

Kanade stopped walking and spotted Soreni's full plate. She quickly snatched the spoon and chugged the whole thing.

Soreni watched in amazement. When Kanade finished, she wiped her mouth with a napkin and dropped the spoon.

"We have to save Yuri," she said.

"Yuri Nakamura?" Soreni asked. Kanade nodded, and took her hand.

"It's time to see these so called Reapers."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Surprisingly, the high school was an open campus. So during the lunch period, students would travel outside the high school and follow the road leading to the Scramble Crossing. Some students would go to Ramen Don in Dogenzaka, where the owner would offer his famous "Insta-noddles" to only his closest friends. Others prefer to go to the Shibuya Main Store area where they can have a burger while they shop. There's even a new restaurant opening, called "Shadow Ramen". With so many choices, only a few people could be found standing in the courtyard, however, no one would, or could, take notice of them.

Shiro took a big gulp as he stared at the purple-headed girl that had just shot at Kariya. Her handgun was still pointed towards them, the smoke fresh out of the barrel. Shiro's arms were shaking, and why wouldn't he be scared? Kariya had just been shot in the chest, his left hand now clutching the wound.

Behind him, Uzuki stood unfazed. Her eyes were full of boredom as well. "Was that really the best you've got?" she asked in a disappointed tone.

Yuri was breathing in quick, light amounts, but she managed to show a small smile."There's plenty more where that came from," Yuri threatened. "Trust me." They glared at each other, their eyes in perfect focus. Yuri took the time to catch her breath, and she planned to attack as soon as she did. Unfortunately, a student walked by Yuri and accidentally went through her. "Ah!" she cried, surprised.

Suddenly, Shiro felt a gust of wind climb up his spine, causing him to shiver as it passed by. A small tornado, about people-sized, was hurdling at Yuri at an increasing rate.

By reflex, Yuri aimed her gun and fired at the tornado, but the bullets were easily deflected. The chiming death bell of an empty gun resounded.

"Tch, Damnit!" Yuri cursed. She took out the empty cartridge and put in another supply, all within a second of time. But she was a second too late, for the tornado was already upon her. Unable to resist, Yuri fell on her bottom, her eyes closed to the inevitable. She could already feel the wind cutting into her cheek. It could finally be the end she was waiting for.

"Guard Skill: Hand Sonic." The sound of two blades clashing together echoed throughout the courtyard.

Slowly, Yuri opened her eyes, and then stared in awe as Kanade held her ground against the raging wind.

"Yurippe!" Hinata shouted, running to her side.

"Yuri!" Otonashi joined, following Hinata.

"You guys…" Yuri said quietly. Gently, they helped her to her feet, and Naoi and Soreni ran close behind.

"Don't let up!" Naoi ordered Kanade.

She nodded in reply, and put more force on her defense.

"What~!" Uzuki whined inside the tornado. "There are more of you!"

At the sound of her voice, Otonashi, Hinata, and Naoi took out their hidden guns and aimed them at her.

"Uzuki, come back!" Kariya shouted. Surprised, Shiro quickly looked at him.

_'I thought the bullet went through his chest!' _Shiro thought. He searched Kariya's body, looking for the open wound that would have been caused by Yuri.

Kariya's left hand was still on his chest, but there wasn't any blood soaking out. In fact, it looked almost brand new.

"Uh…don't boss me around!" Uzuki moaned. Her tornado began losing its speed, and in a matter of seconds, the threat was gone.

Instantly, all of them fired their guns.

"Bye…" she taunted before disappearing into thin air. Naoi stared angrily as his bullet flew away at an invisible target.

"Where the hell did she go?" he yelled.

"Back there," Kanade said calmly, pointing where the rest of the Reapers were. With an emotional boost, he changed his focus and was an inch away from pulling the trigger.

"Wait!" Yuri said, putting her arm out.

"What the hell, Yuri!" he cried angrily.

"That guy I just shot," she whispered. "He doesn't seem to be hurt. Why?"

Back on the other side, Uzuki leaned back on a cushion of air with her arms crossed. Shiro was checking up on Kariya, still puzzled by the sudden recovery.

"How did that happen?" Shiro asked, bewildered.

"Haha. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure," Kariya admitted.

"Aren't they going to attack us?" Uzuki asked angrily. "I didn't think they would be this boring!"

"Hold on, Uzuki. Maybe they want some answers, just like we do," Kariya said, lowering his left hand into his jacket pocket. Pointing his lollipop at Yuri, he put on a smug face. "Yo! Miss-shoot-now-ask-questions-later!"

"What is it, Lollipop?" Yuri shouted back.

"Ouch…" Kariya mumbled. "Just like the new kid…"

"Just get on with it!" Uzuki yelled impatiently.

_'New kid? They don't mean me, do they?'_

"We didn't come here to fight," Kariya continued. "Our mission was to get some answers, and then bounce once we did!"

Yuri contemplated for a second before answering. "Then you give us some answers first!"

Kariya chuckled to himself; he figured he was right.

"Fair enough! Start asking."

The crowd of teenagers walking by was rapidly decreasing. Soon, it was only them and the Reapers.

"Who are you guys, specifically?" she asked first. "We heard you guys were called Reapers from this red-hoodie guy. But other than that, we don't know anything about you!"

Kariya eyes followed his lollipop as he began to swirl it in the air.

"Ah, I see. One of ours must've thought you were a Player, and told you."

"What's a Player?" Yuri felt her anger increase when he didn't answer at first.

"Easy, easy. One question at a time, will ya? Let's see… To start, have you ever wondered where people go after they die?"

"No. We've already figured out the answer. Its-!"

"Then that makes things easier," he said, interrupting her. "It's called the Reaper's Game, and you've got seven days to fulfill seven missions."

Yuri quieted herself when she heard his explanation.

"The Players are those that are dead, and are playing the game. We Reapers aren't necessarily dead, but we act as the game's...difficulties, I should say."

"If you don't complete the mission," Uzuki added, "then you get erased! Isn't that so much fun!" She began laughing hysterically, and Yuri tightened her grip on her gun.

Kanade saw the small movement, and looked at the rest of the group. They seemed to understand as well, even Soreni. Satisfied, she looked back toward the other side.

"So what you're really here to do…" Yuri said, restraining the anger in her voice, "is to bring us into this sick game of yours?"

"Well you _are_ dead," Uzuki said, pointing out the obvious.

"Seems that so long as you stay in this area, you aren't affected by the game's rules. So all we ask," Kariya said, extending his arm towards the exit, "…is that you leave the high school."

Yuri pushed her arms downward, clenching her teeth. "Are you kidding me!" she shouted, her anger now exploding. "Do you really expect me to go into this little game, knowing that I'd be erased if I do!"

"It's not all that bad. If you win-." Kariya didn't get to finish his sentence.

The lollipop in his hand was now just the white stick. The bullet took away everything else. Yuri moved her arm slightly, so that the gun pointed at his head.

"Whatever _prize_ I get out of this game," she said, glaring at them, "doesn't account for my existence at all!"

Uzuki glared back at Yuri, her claws poised to strike. Kariya let go of his stick, then smashed it in his hand.

"Shiro. Think you can handle one by yourself?" he asked.

The frightened boy looked at Kariya as if he was crazy. He looked hesitantly at the other group, and saw that every one of them was dead serious, no pun intended.

"Ok," Hinata said to his friends without breaking his sight on the Reapers. "I think now is a good time to get Soreni out of here…!"

"What?" Soreni asked/whined.

"I agree," Kanade said to those behind her.

"Soreni, get out of here now!" Yuri commanded. She took a step back, as if the last phrase had hurt her physically.

"Alright," she sighed. Soreni turned around and began running back to the safety of the school.

"Gonna save your unarmed one?" Uzuki asked. "We'll just get her as soon as we're done with you~!"

"Listen, Shiro," Kariya said to him. "You're dead, so a bullet won't do much to you. Just use your pins!"

"Again with the pins. What are they supposed to do?"

"Call out their names and you'll see."

Suddenly, Kanade made the first move, jumping high up into the air.

"Shiro! Call out Frozen Cool, now!" Kariya commanded.

Kanade's sword slowly arced its way down towards Shiro. Desperately, he shielded himself with his arms.

"Call it!" Shiro bit his tongue.

"Frozen Cool!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

A spear of frozen ice pushed emerged from the ground, shaking everyone quite a bit. Its steamy white figure appeared magnificent, but it was also a deadly weapon.

Kanade's eyes slowly widened as she came closer.

"Delay!" she cried out. Time seemed to slow down, and Kanade smoothly twirled in the air. With supreme acrobat skills, she landed on the icy spike with bent knees. Cracks emerged from underneath. Then Kanade performed a back flip and jumped back onto the ground.

Everyone, especially Shiro, was frozen in the tension that had set. It was a stalemate again, with both sides unwilling to yield to the other.

A gun fired from the far right side; Naoi pulled his trigger.

The bullet was sent spinning off in Uzuki's direction, but she dodged it with ease. Now on the offense, she snapped her fingers, and two wolf-shaped Noise arrived at her side. Coming from their unknown world, four, orange wolves bared their teeth at the five high school students.

They all looked at each other, and nodded in agreement.

In a burst of speed, Kanade ran passed the wolves, and aimed her small blade at Kariya.

Flustered, the wolves growled and decided to attack the other four, which was exactly what they wanted.

In perfect sync, Yuri and Otonashi fired at a single wolf, one aiming for its leg, the other aiming for its head.

Hinata and Naoi the same, and two wolves were down.

The other two ran at incredible speed, catching up to them before they could react. The wolves pounced on Otonashi and Hinata, their claws on the young men's shoulders and their teeth centimeters away from kill.

"Get this thing off of me!" Otonashi shouted.

Shoulder blades turning, arm extended, gun fired, and wolf down. Yuri completed this all in one fluid movement.

Struggling for his life, Hinata managed to place his gun underneath the wolf's neck and ended its life.

With a sigh of relief, Naoi remarked, "Well that went easier than planned."

Otonashi nodded, and looked back at Kanade. He instantly tensed as he saw them fiercely fight each other.

Using Delay, Kanade swiftly pranced back and forth, while Kariya continued to bombard her with his blue, spiky shurikens. Kanade couldn't even get close to him, and he couldn't even hit her once.

"Uh, hurry up, Kariya!" Uzuki shouted.

"This ain't easy, Uzuki," he replied, breathless. "Why don't you help me a bit?"

"Uh…alright. But you owe me a bowl of ramen later." She summoned two more wolf-shaped Noise and turned to Shiro. "Take care of them for me. Ok~?"

Shiro slowly nodded, and she giggled to herself.

"There's a good boy." Her black wings flapped once, and before he knew it, she was above the icicle already.

Shiro watched as she traveled to the other side, then turned his attention to Yuri and the rest.

Not a moment sooner, a bullet fired by Yuri herself went through a wolf and barely skimmed his face.

"Take them out, and then go for the boy!" Yuri ordered, dashing into the middle of the battlefield.

Hinata followed her for a few seconds, stopped, shot a wolf in the eye, and then continued.

Naoi and Otonashi shot their targets first before running towards them.

Shiro, his eyes bugging out, covered his face as another bullet passed by him.

"Damnit! Missed again!" Yuri shouted. She lowered her gun to reload, giving Shiro enough time to react. She brought it up again and fired.

"Frozen Cool!" Shiro yelled. The familiar pillar of ice was coming up again.

Yuri expected it to happen, and she jumped on top of the icicle, taking care not to step on its point. The bullet smashed into the ice.

"Yurippe!" Hinata called. He shot his gun several times, determined to break the ice.

Without much effort, Yuri jumped off the icicle on the other side, pointed downward, and fired.

Kanade couldn't keep it up much longer. She had to attack now, or her Delay would wear off. But Kariya was unrelenting, and with Uzuki joined in shooting pink, but sharp flower-shaped shurikens, there wasn't much she could do. Kanade decided she only had one chance, and she would have to use it.

But Kariya had a change of plans. "Uzuki, I'll finish it!" he shouted.

"That's more like it!" Uzuki cheered.

Kariya stopped his barrage and pointed one hand at Kanade. A yellow ball slowly appeared in his palm, and it glowed fiercely. When it covered his entire hand, he smiled at her. "Sa~yo~na~ra-."

"Guard Skill: Harmonics." Instantly, a second Kanade split from the first, and darted at Kariya.

Uzuki was in shocked; she stopped her assault, and watched the event unfold.

With a sword on her arm, the second Kanade slashed at the ball of energy. The sound of energy being swallowed followed after.

Then, an explosion occurred, engulfing both Kariya and the second Kanade.

The power of the burst smashed the first icicle in the way, revealing Shiro, on his hands while leaning back in terror.

Yuri stood in front of him, holding the bun to his forehead. Off in the distance, Shiro's Seattle hat lay on the ground, a hole in the front on the cap.

"Checkmate," Yuri said quietly.

"Kanade!" Otonashi shouted, running to her. She was lying on the ground, unconscious.

Uzuki didn't stop him, because she was with the also unconscious Kariya.

"Damnit, Kariya!" she shouted. "You're such a big idiot!"

Hinata and Naoi caught up with Otonashi, and stood silently next to him. "The second Kanade's consciousness must have gone back when the explosion went off," Naoi assumed.

"So she just fainted, right?" Hinata asked. Otonashi gently put Kanade's head on his lap.

"We can only hope."

Yuri took a second to watch Kanade, and Shiro took the chance to try to get away.

"Don't move!" she yelled at him, almost pulling the trigger.

Shiro yelped at the sudden movement.

"I should just shoot you here…" She tilted her index finger forward, and then pulled back.

'_First Gear.'_

"First Gear?" Shiro asked aloud. Suddenly, he disappeared out of Yuri's sight, and reappeared next to Uzuki and Kariya.

Yuri was taken back, but she recovered and rejoined Otonashi.

Standing between the two groups was a man in a shady suit, sunglasses, and red headphones around his neck. The man's hair was slicked back, and he held a dirty grin.

"Megumi!" Uzuki shouted.

"I'd prefer you call me Kitaniji," the man said, irritated. He pushed back his sunglasses and spoke to Kanade and the rest. "Well, well. It seems that we have here some rebel souls that won't play the game."

"And we never will!" Yuri added. Kitaniji laughed.

"We shall see." Kitaniji turned his back on them. "You," he said to Shiro.

"Me?" Shiro asked.

"Yes. You can create Noise, can't you?" Shiro nodded in reply to him. "I'll make sure you become a Reaper. And guess what will happen when you do?"

Shiro thought for a second before answering. "I don't die?"

"No, you stupid boy!" Shiro lowered his head. "You get to come back to _life_!"

Suddenly, the life in Shiro came back. "I get to come back to life?"

Kitaniji smiled at him. "Yes… All you have to do is make sure Players…" He pointed at Otonashi. "…like him, get erased!"

A spark in Shiro's eyes shined. "I get to come back to life…"

"Go ahead. Take them out."

A mystic aura began to surround Shiro. It was dark, and it seemed hostile to touch.

"I need to go back… If I just erase them… If I do…" Shiro lifted his head towards the sky. "I WANT TO COME BACK TO LIFE!" he screamed.

Instantly, the dark aura surrounding him shot up into the sky, and formed into the shape of a giant bird. The sky began to darken, and soon after, a purple bird filled the sky with its menacing form.

"Hahahaha! Just perfect, boy!" Kitaniji grabbed Shiro's pins and threw them on the ground. "Well," he said, turning his head back. "We'll meet again…" He disappeared into the air with Kariya, Uzuki, and Shiro.

Otonashi clenched his teeth, watching the giant bird fly circles around them.

"What are we supposed to do about that!" he shouted.

"I don't know!" Yuri answered. "Just…shoot it!"

"That's crazy!" Naoi yelled.

"Then what can we do?" Hinata asked. They stayed still, waiting for the bird to make its killer strike.

"Follow my lead!" shouted a young man.

"Screw that!" another young man shouted back.

Suddenly, all kinds of mechanical items fell from the sky: vending machines, cars, and even bicycles. They barraged the giant bird in the sky, and it proved too much for the Noise.

Otonashi, Yuri, Hinata, and Naoi watched the bird fall on the ground, and saw that two male teenagers were standing in front of them.

The first had orange, spiky hair and purple headphones to match. The other stood composed and brushed his light, silver hair out of his face.

"To think we had to face this thing on Day 1," the silver-haired teenager said. "It's a good thing I've got a pro like you, Neku." He laughed to himself.

"Sheesh. And I'm stuck with you for another six days," Neku thought out loud. "At least get rid of the laugh, Joshua."

"Talk later, Neku. We've got an injured girl over here." They turned around and observed Kanade carefully. "What happened to your Cure Drink, Neku?"

"I spent all three uses already." Neku's eye caught the single glimpse of a few pins lying on the ground. "This'll do," he said, picking up the happy-face pin. "Peace Full."

A soda can appeared in front of Joshua. He grabbed it, and bent down to Otonashi. "Let her drink this," he said with a calm voice.

Otonashi looked at Kanade with concern, and reluctantly took the can. He opened it, and slowly let the liquid fall into Kanade's throat.

After a few seconds, Kanade slowly opened her eyes, and the darkness that came with the bird slowly went away as well.

"Yuzuru?" she asked.

"Yeah, Kanade," he answered. He embraced her tightly, and a tear began to form in his eye. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Well, you're welcome," Joshua said, standing back up. Then he extended his hand out to shake. "My name's Yoshiya Kiryu, but please, call me Joshua. It's nice to meet you."

Neku walked up towards them, and put his hands behind his head. "Neku Sakuraba. Likewise."

Yuri looked at both of them with uncertainty, but they seemed alright. If she wanted to survive, she needed allies like them.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Soreni stood behind the school gates leading to the Scramble Crossing. If she took a step forward, would she be able to come back? And if she could, what would Kanade and the rest of them think of her? These thoughts crossed her mind as she debated over this single move.

"Hiya!" Frightened by the sudden voice, Soreni jumped. She looked behind her and saw a smiling Hinata waving and walking to her.

"Oh, it's just you Hinata. Don't sneak up on me like that!" Soreni shouted. Hinata playfully chuckled at her.

"What are you doing here, Soreni? Shouldn't you be in the high school with everyone else?"

"I should, but…" She looked back at the Scramble Crossing. Dozens of people passed by the school, not even giving it a second thought. Soreni saw why they named it the Scramble Crossing; people of all ages were scrambling their way through the crosswalks to get to their home or maybe the famed 104 building where hundreds of girls and a few boys shopped. Hinata sighed to himself, ruffling the point of his hair with his right hand.

"I understand you're curious, but it's much safer in the school. Even Joshua and Neku warned us about it. If we exit here at the wrong time, we'll get sucked into the Game!"

"It's more than that, Hinata," she said, lost in thought. "Somehow, I get this…this warm feeling in my chest." Her left hand laid above where her heart should be. "Whenever I look at this city, I feel this way…" She lifted her foot slightly, and took a deep breath.

"Whoa - hey, hey, hey!" He grabbed her wrist and held her back.

"Don't try to stop me," she said sharply. "This is something I feel that I've got to do."

"Who said anything about stopping you?" He pulled her close and gave her a calm look. "I'm coming along with you." Soreni's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Someone's got to look after you, so…" Suddenly, she hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Hinata!" He was speechless. "To be honest, I was a little afraid to go at this alone…" Taking advantage of the situation, Hinata decided to say something cool to win her favor.

"Just don't fall for me, alright?" Soreni had already let go and ran into the Scramble Crossing.

"Who would do that!" she shouted. "C'mon, before I leave you behind!"

An hour and a half passed by before Soreni and Hinata realized that they were lost. They had gone through a few alleys, passed a records store, stopped by a Mexican Hot Dog restaurant, and then went through a couple stores to where they were now, a bridge overlooking people shopping below. Hinata found it strange that they could order food and eat at the restaurant, but he was even more surprised that the employee serving them was also named Hideki. "And here I thought that Hideki wasn't a popular name…" he said sadly.

"I think you should be glad," Soreni commented. "At least your name's normal. Have you ever heard of one person named Soreni?"

"Being unique is better. Anyway…" He covered his eyes from the sunlight and searched the area. "Do you have any idea of where we are?"

"Now that you mention it…" Soreni did the same, holding the same confused look.

"This isn't good. We could get involved into the Game at anytime, so I wanted to stay close to the high school." Soreni stood mystified by the scenery. Her eyes held a sense of pleasure despite their situation.

"We're in…Miyashita Park," Soreni said, as if in a trance.

"What? How do you even know?" She continued looking around the city, unaware of Hinata's question. "Hey, Soreni!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her back and forth. "Soreni!"

"Huh!" she shouted, startled at the sudden movement. What?"

"How do you know this is Miyashita Park?" Hinata asked her, crossing his arms.

"Huh? How do I know…?" she asked, disorientated.

"Yes! Are you alright!" She slowly nodded.

"I don't know. I just…know, is all." She looked around and revealed even more of the unfamiliar city. "Over there is Cat Street…and over there is the Miyashita Park Underpass, among other things."

"Are you sure?" he asked, unconvinced. Soreni nodded again.

"It just comes to me." "Well, then can you find our way back?" Soreni shrugged, and tried to peer out into Shibuya.

Suddenly, she felt a shadow from behind. Her first instinct was to turn around, but something inside her said otherwise.

"I thought I heard some shouting here," the man from behind said. "And here I find two players just begging to be erased!" Without hesitation, Hinata grabbed Soreni and pulled her back, then took out his gun with his free hand. A man in a red hoodie looked at him inquisitively. But Hinata gave him his answer before he knew it. A bullet zoomed its way toward the Reaper, but he dodged it as if he did the matrix.

Almost immediately after, the man is erected upright, and then gently falls to the ground. Confused, Hinata looked onward and saw another man staring at them. He was a tall, fairly skinny man dressed in black and white. With his tinted black glasses, Hinata thought he looked pretty cool. But now was not the time for that.

"Who are you?" he asked the man, steadying his gun straight at him.

"That Reaper saw you. But you couldn't be Players, since they've already sent them away…" the man in black and white mumbled to himself. Soreni quickly clutched Hinata's hand, urging him to run. Hinata himself wanted to run away ASAP, but something in his gut told him to wait.

"Who are you?"

"I understand your fear, but I'm not a Reaper. My name's Sanae Hanekoma. I'm what you call…a guardian. And you two are in the Reaper's Game. But it seems like-

"We know that already," Hinata said, cutting him off.

"Hmm, what's that? You already know about the Game? Then, why are you still…?"

"Hinata…" Soreni whispered. "There are more of them…" Her voice sounded frightened. Quickly, he scanned the buildings for any signs of Reapers. But he couldn't seem to find any visible in the area.

"I don't see any, though," he answered.

"Let's go to my café," Hanekoma suggested. "You'll be safer that way." The two looked at him hesitantly. In reply, Hanekoma gave a smooth smile, and the two reluctantly followed him.

However, Hanekoma stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He was fiddling with his pocket, looking for something. Hinata politely waited for him, but Soreni couldn't wait. Her anxiety was ushering her along. Without a second thought, she continued past the park and onto the sidewalk of Cat Street. Hanekoma stopped as he realized that she had moved on. A break in what seemed to be broken glass was evident in the air.

"She could…" Hanekoma mumbled.

"What was that?"Hinata asked.

"It's nothing," he replied with a smile. "Let's go. My café's only a bit farther."

"I understand what you're saying," the pink-haired Uzuki said.

"Then you'll understand why we need to get out there now!" the newly-established Reaper, Beat, shouted.

"BUT, you're just a newbie. Going out without a partner is dan-ger-ous. Especially with those Taboo noise out now." She bit her thumb nail with her small teeth. "Now, as much as I'd like to see you get mauled by one, Kitaniji would probably not let me. So there goes my fun…" She walked to the shadows of the rooftop, where Kariya was resting. "Oi." She bent down and poked at his face. "You owe me a ramen bowl, remember? How long do you expect me to wait?"

"Hahaha," Kariya laughed. "You seem to be full of energy as always." He closed his eyes and continued. "How's Shiro doing?" Uzuki pouted.

"He's at the corner of the rooftop, looking down at Shibuya," she replied. "Gotta say. He's been in the dumps ever since Kitaniji told him about coming back to life."

"He's probably just eager to get back to his family and friends, like anybody else. Don't worry about him so much."

"Gah. I wasn't worried about him!" she claimed. "It's you that asked about him!"

"Hahaha…" Kariya laughed. "Fair enough. So when does Kitaniji plan to make him a Reaper?"

"Don't know, don't care. Just shut up and get some rest so I could get my ramen bowl sooner!"

"What am I doing?" Shiro asked himself. "I'm dead, aren't I?" He looked at his hand. Then his eyes averted to the ground, where many people were walking around at the Scramble Crossing. The sunset was at the right point where the city looked like it was dyed in red. Shiro covered half of his face with the hand, and continued staring. "I can see everything so clearly. I can feel it so clearly. Heck, I can even taste everything so clearly! But, I'm sure I died."

Suddenly, a spring breeze flew by, sending Shiro's hair flying.

"I can come back, right? Then I just have to get back!"

"What for, dude?"

Shiro turned around and looked at his new acquaintance curiously. It was Beat, with his skateboard in hand.

"What do you mean 'What for'?" Shiro asked. "Shouldn't anybody want to come back to life if they had the chance?"

"Well, yeah. But you seem to especially want to go back. What's there back for you?" Shiro didn't reply. He joined Shiro at the edge of the rooftop. With one foot on the ledge, they both looked out at the sky. "Well, it's not any of my business if you don't wanna tell me." Another breeze passed by. "Hey, this might be sudden, but can you do me a favor?" Shiro peered at Beat from his peripherals.

"Shoot," he replied, putting his hand in his jacket pocket.

"Team up with me, and help me erase as many Players as we can find," he said to Shiro. He took a better look at Beat.

"You serious?" Beat nodded his head several times.

"Dead serious. No one wants to team up with a newbie like me. And you want to come back to life too, right?" It was Shiro's time to nod his head. "Then you won't be losing anything! C'mon, dude! Let's do it!" He held out his hand to shake. Shiro glanced at the hand oddly, as if he didn't know what to do with it. Then he grabbed it firmly and let a smile slip out.

"I'm Shiro."

"Call me Beat!" They let go and stared back at the ground. "Hey, I have an idea! Let's go to this café I know to celebrate!"

"A café? You sure?" Shiro asked, hesitant.

"Yeah, you'll love it! The owner there is the coolest guy you'll ever meet! And the coffee is **amazing!**"Shiro scratched the back of his head.

"…Alright," he finally said. "I could go for some coffee."

"Then let's go!" In an instant, Beat jumped down the rooftop. About halfway down, he put his skateboard beneath his feet. Then, in a matter of seconds, he landed onto the ground, the wheels screeching on the sidewalk. Shiro shook his head as he looked at Beat turn left and right to "avoid" the crowd.

"I have a feeling I've gotten into something bad…" Shiro said to himself. He shook his head, but eventually plucked his courage. "Here's my first step into the Afterlife…" His right foot forward, he closed his eyes, and felt the rush enter his mind.


End file.
